Just a little blog for posting various creations for the BECMI / Rules Cyclopedia edition of Dungeons and Dragons. All hail the Red Box!
Updated whenever possible with a little something, whether a monster or spell or item or just a little list of whatevers.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Magic Item: Corpselife Ring

Corpselife Ring: Known in some circles as Daviane's Ring for the minor magister that -- supposedly -- crafted the first known example, corpselife rings vary widely in size, design and ornamentation. The only trait which any given rings have in common is their composition: a corpselife ring is made up of filaments of bone and black iron of various thicknesses, twisted together in a strange mottled composite. All known corpselife rings have been finger-rings, though tales suggest at least one bangle has been crafted with the same enchantment.

A corpselife ring initially grants a simple magical effect, usually a +1 bonus to Armour Class and saves in a similar manner to a low-powered ring of protection. It is when the bearer of a ring is killed that its true purpose asserts itself -- 1-4 rounds after death, the bearer of a corpselife ring "resurrects" as a free-willed undead creature, gaining the following traits:

- Alignment immediately shifts to Chaotic, if applicable.

- Curative magic no longer functions, but bearer may "heal" themselves by consuming living flesh and blood, regaining hit points on a 1:1 ratio of damage dealt. 50% of bearers gain a paralysis ability similar to that of a ghoul.

6 comments:

I can't tell if that's a desired effect or if this is more like a cursed item...

As always, really thought provoking. I almost like the color behind your items than the items themselves! I'd love to see a more narrative description (or even a module!) for the world where all your items and creatures originate.

Each item is like a really short story with tantalizing hints of the wider world swirling in the background. Just amazing. I don't know how you do it :)

Whether it's desired or a curse would depend on the individual, of course *evilgrin*

Sometimes I've considered making a little mini-setting based on some of the ideas around my stuff -- I don't have one consolidated campaign, so pulling in everything would be tricky -- but it never seems to manage to happen. Woe.

I put this in my game a few weeks back, expecting it to take some time to see the fruits of it. The Hobbit that put it on was amazingly killed about 5 minutes later, so I now have a Hobbit-Ghoul PC in the game, which I must say is pretty damn awesome.